I know you're probably asking yourself, "There are more types of water than tap, filtered and sparkling?" And yes, there are enough specialty waters to fill up a 45-page menu. In fact, the extensive menu includes 20 different types from nations all around the world, like Canada, Denmark, France and Italy, and three waters from our beloved country.

Each page of the water menu includes probably the most detailed description of water you have ever read. Every single item on the menu includes a brief paragraph of background information, the mouth-feel and sometimes which types of food the water pairs well with. There's a graphic that shows how sweet or salty and smooth or complex the water is, as well as a small bit of information about the type of water (still or sparkling), contents, size and price (this water ain't free).

Is this just a load of crap or could certain types of water actually enhance your meal?

While alcohol and beverage stores like Spec's and specialty grocery stores like Central Market do carry specialty sparkling and still waters, Houston restaurants haven't jumped on the bandwagon of pairing water with food. When I called Joseph Kemble, "Grappa Joe", at Spec's Warehouse to ask him what he thought about the newly released water menu, he said he had never heard of pairing water with food. Although the store does sell specialty bottles of sparkling and still water, Houstonians haven't asked him about his thoughts on pairing water with food.

Similarly, Vanessa Treviño Boyd, sommelier of Philippe, said no one has ever asked her for her opinion on pairing water with food, but she says that having the selection of certain sparkling and still waters is important to people, especially in a metropolitan environment.

"I do believe there is such a range of water out there," Treviño Boyd says. "I am not sure I could come up with 45 different pages of waters out there. There is a range of water in terms of how they taste and minerality."

Treviño Boyd says that when she worked at Alaine Ducasse in New York, restaurant guests were focused on the water they were consuming. She says that people have a preference depending on the bubbles, saltiness and general makeup of the water.

"You have different levels of effervescence," Treviño Boyd says. "If you are dealing with a rich, viscous sauce, you will want a water with large bubbles, and the less viscous, you will want smaller bubbles."

Sean Beck, sommelier of Backstreet Cafe, Trevisio and Hugo's, explains that this is not the first time he has heard about someone pairing water with food and treating specialty waters the same way they would treat wine. He says that water can affect the taste of food based on the pH level and how much acidity is in the water. However, you can get the same effect if you simply add a squeeze of citrus, like most restaurants do, anyways; and it's free.

"If someone puts a lemon or lime in your water, it is going to affect the taste of your wine and affect the taste of your food," Beck says.

While Beck recognizes that some people care about the type of water they drink with their food and wine, he believes that we should focus more on perfecting the pairing of wine with food before we shift our focus to pairing water with food.

"I think we want people to pair their wine with their food instead of water," he says. "If we can't even get them to correct that, it seems like a lost cause."

Both Beck and Treviño Boyd think it is fascinating and intriguing that someone has developed an extensive 45-page water menu, one that some people refer to as the water bible, but they don't think it will catch on in Texas as much as it has in California and European countries.

"There's only so much people are going to pay for water," Beck says, "and you're talking about something volume-heavy...If you're doing a wine dinner or tasting menu, you should definitely take some consideration of what water you're serving."

Financially speaking, holding that much expensive water in a restaurant doesn't make sense for restaurant owners if there isn't a high demand for the product. It costs them a lot of money to keep it on stock and it costs customers a lot of money to purchase it at the restaurant.

I'm curious what Houstonians think about a 45-page water menu and a "water sommelier." Would any of you like the option to order a specialty water at a restaurant? And would you like an explanation of which foods it pairs best with?

- I use mineral and specially mineral sparkling water as an example, when talking to newcomers or industry people, of how far Houston has come in regards to food and beverage selection since 2005 when I moved to the US. The Randalls I used to shop at, almost eight years ago, did not carry any sparkling water back then. The same store carries now probably about 10 sparkling waters from different proveniences (and even big water makers in the US realized the business that is in sparkling water and yesterday I picked up for the first time a bottle of Ozarka Sparkling Water at Wal-Mart in Conroe)

- The article points out a 45 page water menu which, Texas Style, makes it sound like a huge list, but the list is only 20 waters. If you go to the mentioned Specs Warehouse Midtown or Central Market you will find at least double that amount. Extreme example is Germany, were a regular corner supermarket will carry about 15 different waters and there are thousands of natural springs bottling their water. People over there swear by the mineral content, salt content, etc. of the waters that come from natural springs. Except for waters from volcanic areas, which naturally have a higher sulfur content, or a sodium rich water, i am certain that almost no normal German can actually taste the difference between a water from Bavaria and one from Saxony.

- Certainly a food will taste different if paired with a high sulfuric water (Gerolsteiner), a high effervescence water (Gerolsteiner, Vichy, Ferrarelle), a sodium rich water (Vichy Catalan), etc. But those spikes are more the exceptions. The majority of waters listed range in similar areas in the Sodium (5-200mg), magnesium (0-80) and Calcium (0-150) contents. I reckon because even in water you will have a mainstream taste and too high of any of the aforementioned is going to find less adepts.

- As in all the variety of salts (all a form of NaCl)that were super hot three years ago, H20 varieties are also a lot about feel and isn't even wine sometimes more about feel (price, varietal, origin) than real taste differences (as some blind tasting tests have shown in the past)?

Somehow, I think the restaurant will survive the exorbitant inventory costs of stacking a few cases of Pellegrino somewhere for the 1000% markup. Don't we teach marginal costs and benefits in schools anymore? Oh, and this:

People from Houston aren't pretentious, ignorant or stupid? Not to mention prideful, boastful, and prone to speaking highly of themselves but negatively about non-Texans, particularly those who have it better then them?

You really have no idea what Houston's image around the country and world is, do you. Think they're too stupid to notice Houstonian and Texan tendency to self-promote? Here's a reality check: the only compliments that count are the ones other people give you.

Why do you think Houston's great (and some of them are great) restaurants get little recognition? Does the phrase "full of themselves" (or alternatively, "full of ****") mean anything to you?